ALDI — Local services in South Bend

Aldi is where I try to buy most of my groceries. It's shocking how much less expensive most items are at Aldi compared to the other grocery stores in town, with comparable or better quality. The produce sometimes gets a bad rap, but they've noticeably improved in this area over the years. I also appreciate their new self checkout machines. That feels weird to even type, but they're so much better than other stores. For one, I've never seen any of them out of order. And they let you scan multiple items consecutively without forcing you to stop and wait for the machine to detect that you've placed the correct item on the tray. It makes self checkout super quick.

Advice for the new Aldi shopper:

It takes a quarter deposit to unlock a shopping cart, which gives people an incentive to actually return their carts. Return your cart, get your quarter back. Simple, genius, and you never have to worry about your car getting hit by an errant shopping cart.

You bag your own groceries at a counter behind the checkout lanes. You can purchase paper bags, but I highly recommend getting a few decent quality shopping bags and keeping them in the trunk of your car. They'll pay for themselves over time.

You may not be able to find everything you need at Aldi. It's intentionally small to keep prices down, which means they don't carry every little thing. Expect to still make the occasional trek into Meijer, Kroger, Martin's, or Walmart.

There are two "Aldi Finds" aisles with rotating seasonal items. You can find everything from cookware to lawn furniture, and most of it is decent quality. Occasionally they'll have some fun, minimalist Aldi gear, so I decided to buy a nice mug last week. They've saved me so much money over the years that I'm happy to rep their logo with my...

For a grocery chain whose roots originated in Batavia IL and operated in the Chicago area, Ali's has made remarkable leaps and bounds to become a major competitor in the grocery wars. When Wal-Mart refuses to price match because it's impossible to do so without losing revenue, you are doing something right. I grew up in Chicago, so, I was able to see Aldi's begin as a "cash only", "Bring Your Own Bags" store with just a few hundred stores scattered through Chicago and the surrounding suburbs and transform into the Wal-Mart smashing giant it is today. At first, the only items you could purchase were their brand of foods with some select name brands on special purchase. It was only in the last 8 years or so Aldi's has started carrying Coca-Cola as a regular item. Before that, one of the only carbonated beverage choices was the Summit brand. Up until not too long ago, Aldi's was the go to store for any grocery item(s). In South Bend Aldi's operates two stores, one on Bendix Dr. And one on Ireland Rd. Late 2017, Aldi's Corp began renovations on the store on South Ireland Rd. The store was finished early February. Not only does this Aldi's carry food, they also carry home goods as well. Some items are still limited to the Aldi's brand, but, which is more important, purchasing a name brand for a higher price,or, purchasing an Aldi's brand of same or greater quality for a lower price? Aldi's is a force to be reckoned with and Wal-Mart really should re-evaluate their marketing strategies, otherwise, they will suffer the same fate as other market chains which are now owned by another company, or, they may suffer the same fate as other supermarkets suffered when Wal-Mart had the...

I love Aldi for many reasons. Their prices are great, their products are fantastic (and are often better than the major name brands at other stores), and there's always something new to look at. I also love the fact that they have their own line of gluten free projects called Live Gfree. Some of the GF products rotate, but there are many staples that are quite good & are reasonably priced.

I also tend to love the brands of non-grocery items Aldi stocks. I've found many great items at prices fantastic prices. (The Crofton water pitchers & filters are fabulous.) It's worth watching the weekly ads just to see what non-grocery goods are coming in!

At this particular Aldi, the staff are pretty much always pleasant and knowledgeable. The store is typically clean and well organized. There have also been several times someone on the staff has gone above and beyond in helping me try to find something at another store because they were out of it here.

It's a great company to do business with, and the Ireland Rd. store is a great...